Not a Date
by julliet15
Summary: Austin asks Ally out - not on a date, but a friendly study session at Mini's. Some rain falls, and some sparks fly. Yep, definitely not a date.


**Hey Auslly fans, I'M BACK! MUA HAHAHAHAHA! Okay, that was melodramatic. Anyway, I wrote this one-shot, and had it beta-read by When. In. Doubt. Write-It. Out. I give her a virtual hug for her valuable input and compliments. This story is VERY LOOSELY based on personal experience. AvengerGal, if you're reading this, you know what I'm talking about!**

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After Ally's disastrous fundraiser to pay back her father for donated instruments, Austin knew two things: one, he really needed to start studying more and two, Ally really needed an excuse to start reading books again. Austin's oh-so-perfect solution to his epic boredom during study time was to have Ally tutor him; having a friend around would be sure to spice up an otherwise bland pile of math books. Therefore, the possible consequences of his decision did not occur to Austin, even when he asked Ally if she would study with him at Mini's.

Ally nodded in agreement, saying, "My dad is sure to let me go if it's for school stuff."

Austin smiled a wide grin, and he couldn't manage to smooth it away from his face. He was inexplicably enthusiastic to see Ally, hang out with Ally, tease Ally… and so on. Not that Austin planned on telling Ally that.

"I'll see you after school," waved Ally as she headed off to class.

Austin waved back, still excited for what was to come.

Later that day, Austin sat at a small circular table with his algebra book and composition book in front of him. The sky overhead was downcast with a cloudy grey hue, broken here and there with golden sunbeams. Austin flipped through the pages of equations, rules, and numbers, trying but failing to process the foreign language in his muddled mind. Usually he could sufficiently pay attention, but at the moment all he did was wonder why Ally was late. Okay, so it was still ten minutes before the time they agreed to meet. Still, wasn't she the type to come early, not him? In fact, why was he there early? Austin dismissed it to the fact that he really had nothing better to do… only studying.

"Hi Austin," greeted Ally cheerily as she sat across from him.

Austin started in surprise; he had been too consumed with his thoughts to take notice of the girl he had been waiting for.

"Hey Als," he replied casually. "Where have you been?"

"Um, Sonic Boom. You know that I'm early for the study session, right?"

"Psh, yeah of course," brushed off Austin with a hint of nervousness. "I was just testing you."

"Yeah, sure," replied Ally sarcastically. "Let's just get to the tutoring."

"Joy," said Austin, rolling his eyes in exasperation.

Ally scooted her chair next to Austin, causing their shoulders to brush together for a moment; subconsciously, Austin leaned toward her so that their arms were touching and she could feel his minty breath on her. He could examine every fine eyelash and the subtle spattering of freckles upon her rosy cheeks. He watched as her pink lips formed the words meant to instruct him, admiring their curvature as she smiled. He had to force himself to process the lessons she was giving him, just so that her alarm wouldn't sound off at his distraction. The clouds began to sprinkle the earth with their waters, but this did not particularly bother Austin and Ally. The drizzle was not enough to drive them away from their so-called learning, and Ally had an umbrella at hand just in case.

"Austin, focus," reprimanded Ally, who noticed Austin's dreamy gaze. "How do you solve a system of equations?"

"You add the z to the y and divide it by the x and blah blah blah," replied Austin dully. "Seriously Als, we've been going at it for an hour already. Can we take a break?"

"We wouldn't be taking this long if you actually focused," responded Ally with a chuckle.

"C'mon, pleeeeease?" pleaded Austin, who grasped Ally's slender hands with his own and gave her his signature puppy dog eyes.

Ally glanced at their intertwined hands, blushed a little, and finally nodded in assent. Austin's lips tweaked into a smile, and he let go of Ally's hands with some reluctance.

"Do you want to bounce ideas off each other for our next song?" suggested Ally.

Austin shook his head. "Nah, not now. Let's talk about something else."

"Like…?"

"Like, what would you do if you didn't have music?"

"Die."

Austin chuckled good-naturedly, and Ally couldn't help but feel ridiculously pleased at his response.

"Seriously though, what would you do?" persisted Austin sincerely.

Ally tapped her chin with her finger as she thought about her response. Finally she replied, "I think I would teach."

"Yeah?"

"Yeah. Does your hypothetical situation at least allow me to be a music teacher?"

"Nope!"

"Okay… then I'm going with English. I love English."

"Classic Ally response."

Ally's eyes momentarily flashed, and she asked, "Do you think I'd be good at teaching?"

"Are you kidding? You'd be awesome!"

Ally raised her thin eyebrows in amusement, gesturing toward the math books and saying, "Well, I don't seem to make a good tutor for you."

Austin shook his head hurriedly and replied, "No, that's my fault, not yours. You always help me, Dez, and Trish with our homework… whether we like it or not."

A smirk appeared on Ally's face, which was a rare sight for Austin to see. That didn't matter much though; he much preferred the genuine, broad smile of her glossy pink lips - the smile that Austin liked to believe she kept in reserve for him.

"What would _you_ do without music?" inquired Ally.

Austin shrugged, but that wasn't a good enough response for Ally.

"I would like an answer _in words_," emphasized Ally.

"I don't know," sighed Austin. "I guess I would become the king of mattresses like my dad. That was the plan before I met you and my music career officially began."

Ally nodded slowly, inwardly marveling at how dramatically her and Austin's lives had changed. From the moment Austin decided to steal her song, their strings of their lives had become tied together in an inseparable knot. Ally squirmed in her seat as she tried to figure out a way to tell Austin how much he meant to her; seeing her awkwardness, Austin opened his mouth to say something. However, at that moment especially large drops of rain began to plop down from the grumbling sky, falling faster and faster. The light sprinkle became a downpour of water within mere moments, immediately soaking Austin and Ally. Ally squealed as she struggled to open her umbrella, and Austin laughed as he gathered up their things.

"Forget about the umbrella!" exclaimed Austin with a smile. "Let's get out of the rain."

Austin dragged Ally by the hand towards the nearest form of shelter: an awning in front of a closed mall store. Austin's shaggy blond hair was dripping wet, and Ally's brunette curls were matted down with rainwater. They looked at each other and simultaneously burst out in laughter, a boisterous laughter that soon brought an ache to their sides.

"We were so dumb to stay outside!" laughed Ally.

"I know right?" agreed Austin. "Oh, your mascara's… kinda running."

Ally gasped as she lifted her hand to touch her eyelids. "Aw man, that's so embarrassing."

"It's okay, you still look great."

Ally rolled her eyes, smiling but not believing a word of it. Austin handed her a napkin, which he had hastily grabbed along with his other belongings on the table. Even when Ally was done cleaning herself up, there were still a few grey streaks on her eyelids and cheeks; the glimmer in her eyes, however, had not lost their fascinating beauty regardless.

"This is the best date I've ever had," murmured Austin blissfully, loud enough for Ally to hear over the pitter-patter of rain.

"D-date?" she echoed.

Austin's eyes widened fearfully. "Uh, I meant _study_ date. Not like a _date_ date. Hehe, that would be weird…"

"Oh, right" said Ally, and Austin thought he detected a hint of disappointment in her tone.

There was an uncomfortable pause, with Austin scuffing his foot on the ground and Ally resisting the urge to start munching on her sodden hair.

"Unless you maybe… want it to be a date… o-or something," muttered Austin nervously.

Ally desperately wanted to agree, but unfortunately her mouth started to malfunction on her. Austin took her awkward attempts at speech as either pure nervousness or an inability to let him down easy. He felt like he was at the edge of some perilous cliff, and he wasn't sure if the rope around his waist would support him; in one moment, Austin decided to take a chance and plunge in anyway. He took Ally's hands in his own, rubbing his calloused thumbs over her smooth skin and gazing into her eyes meaningfully.

"Als, I know this must come as a shock, but I really don't mind the idea of dating you," stated Austin. "In fact, I'd consider what we did today a date, only we didn't realize it before."

Austin bit his lip as he waited for Ally's response, hoping beyond all hope that she would not let him plummet down the cliffside. With joyful tears in her eyes, Ally finally looked up at Austin, beamed, and rose on her tip-toes to encounter his lips with hers. It was a short, chaste kiss, but the two of them still experienced a dreamy, pleasant daze afterward. Ally had never seen Austin look as goofily adorable as he did in that moment.

"We have to do that again," asserted Austin firmly.

"What do you mean, the kiss or the date?" asked Ally amusedly.

Austin grinned, gently brushing back her hair and cupping her cheek with his hand. "Both."

"Anytime, anywhere," responded Ally cheekily, as if agreeing to a challenge.

"Good. Now can we get inside?"

Ally wrapped her arms around Austin's waist and nestled her face into his muscular chest; Austin tenderly squeezed her back and rested his chin on her head.

"Can we wait a little?" requested Ally softly.

Instead of verbally responding, Austin simply held her tighter and sighed contentedly. So, the day didn't exactly turn out as planned, but who were they kidding? Austin didn't know when, didn't know how, didn't know why, but he had liked Ally for a while yet; he wasn't, as far as he was concerned, going to stop liking her at any time.

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**I hope you liked this! If you did, please tell me via review, favorite, etc. If you loved this story and want to read more, go to my profile for my other Auslly fics! I have two new ideas for Auslly stories, and I could use some input for which one to do next. I put short summaries on my profile, and they are titled "Deejays & Disasters" and "Milkshakes & Magic." God bless you!**


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